How Many Days to Start Packing

No set routine, but I also love the pre-trip packing, so will start gathering things weeks ahead of time. We are going right after the holidays, so I think I will want to be extra organized. We do a lot of short business trips, so I have travel basics packed all the time.

One problem I see, is that we are doing a Mexican Riviera trip in a year that is possibly an El Niño --so no idea what kind of weather to expect until we are much closer to sailing. Could be normal early January temps, or some serious stormy weather. I'm hesitant to do any clothes shopping as a result, and we are talking about hitting the after Christmas sales for whatever we need.

I simply don't understand all this packing early concept.

For me I have so many things to do between now and the time I leave especially because its the holidays I need to start early - I mean we just got down with halloween stuff, thanksgiving, blackfriday, christmas, school exams etc so I will start when I need to ensure everything is done

Now my last cruise was not around holiday and nothing major in my life going on so I packed the night before because I had to get up and go to school for 3 hours before i left for cruise terminal

So I guess it really just depends on whats going on

Usually start to organize outfits a week out, so if something needs washed I still have lots of time. Actual packing commences about two days prior so I have 2 days to change my mind or add accessories I may have forgotten. We leave in 2 weeks, and are going to a football game the day before so I will pack a separate bag to use for our overnight at the airport after the game..lots of planning[emoji41]

Usually I'm a night before girl but I'm 21 days from my first cruise and my clothes are organized and in the suitcase.

Hey I am on the same cruise!!!!!

I too am a night before packer, but this being my first cruise I decided to formulate a cruise packing list and started the process 1 month ago. 2 days before we head to Miami and everything is good to go; "a little a day takes the pressure away". No more night before packing for me....this is so much better.

Joining the Epic on Sunday week (29th) in Barcelona. Leaving Heathrow a couple of days before so packing will start next Wednesday. Having done lots of cruises we know what we need so I can have my clothes folded and packed in 30 mins, my wife takes a lot longer !!

I enjoy getting the paper work together, so we did that yesterday. We are well organised so everything is pre-booked, taxis from airport to hotel and the ship back to the airport so we have peace of mind.

I am cruising in Feb and I have started trying on outfits already. I love to get a couple new things for my cruises. I love love picking out cute outfits and jewelry to match. That is part of the fun to me.

I look to see if anything I need has to be washed a couple of days before leaving, and pack the night before.

 

I've been traveling almost weekly for business for 20+ years. I can usually pack and be out the door in 15 minutes :D

Fellow road warrior here!

I always find that it's so much harder to pack for a vacation. You need so much more than the standard 2 slacks, 3 shirts, workout wear, underwear and sport coat.

My personal out the door record for a biz trip is under 5 minutes from nothing in the suitcase to in the car on the way to the airport

But I've already started packing for our cruise next week!

No set routine, but I also love the pre-trip packing, so will start gathering things weeks ahead of time. We are going right after the holidays, so I think I will want to be extra organized. We do a lot of short business trips, so I have travel basics packed all the time.

 

 

 

One problem I see, is that we are doing a Mexican Riviera trip in a year that is possibly an El Niño --so no idea what kind of weather to expect until we are much closer to sailing. Could be normal early January temps, or some serious stormy weather. I'm hesitant to do any clothes shopping as a result, and we are talking about hitting the after Christmas sales for whatever we need.

A little more humid and a little rainier. Still plenty warm in Mexico. Remember LA in December will be cool--jeans and jackets.

Hey I am on the same cruise!!!!!

 

I too am a night before packer, but this being my first cruise I decided to formulate a cruise packing list and started the process 1 month ago. 2 days before we head to Miami and everything is good to go; "a little a day takes the pressure away". No more night before packing for me....this is so much better.

We are cruising 4 days after Thanksgiving weekend so probably pack that Sunday when we get back from 3 days in AC-question is when do I get my nails done! I don't like to do it before I pack, too easy to mess it up!

About 15 minutes before I'm due to leave.

like above I did it for business for years.

Sometimes I start 30 minutes before - then I have time for a shower just before we go.

Drives my wife nuts.

For a work trip...15 minutes. Toiletry bag is permanently stocked. A suit or two, some evening clothes. Done. Toss it in a 21" carry on and I'm set.

For a vacation...I lose all sense of rationality. I'm usually running around the house at 4am on departure day in a full on sweat trying to remember what I packed and what I forgot. Coffee spilled on my shirt, sweat rolling down my forehead with clothes thrown all over the bedroom as the cab pulls up. Then I have a tendency to jump the gun on 'vacation mode' the night before we leave, go out and have one too many pre-vacation cocktails that in turn leads to a really groggy morning. I never learn.

For our January cruise I actually did buy some new summer clothes at the end of summer. Shorts in Chicago mid-January are hard to find. My normal routine would to wait until 2 days before, buy clothes online then pay a ridiculous amount for overnight shipping. But then if I pack too early, I forget what I've packed and repack again. This time around I'll try to pack 2 days ahead of time. Maybe.

For me packing is part of the anticipation and part of the fun- so I normally have the suitcases out in the spare room a month or even two before. I like to pop stuff in that I have bought specifically for the holiday, and also clothes that I know I want to take but that we won't wear beforehand. Then a week or so before I'll take it all out and properly re-pack it. Then my partner will start going in and out of the suitcases messing it all up :rolleyes:

Having said that... I can't do it this time, as my spare room is currently taken over by a mix of Christmas and wedding stuff. I'm going to have to wait until I get rid of the Christmas stuff, which will give me about a week to pack for the cruise. Just doesn't feel right to leave it that late!

Oh, and my partner doesn't 'do' packing- I always have to do it for him, even when he's off on business trips! One time I ought to send him off with no underwear or something to serve him right!

We leave Saturday morning (driving to port) and work full time and have 2 little kids. I did all laundry and packed the kids up one week in advance (this past weekend). I packed myself about halfway and will finish up Friday night and DH will pack Friday night real quick. haha

I'd like to make a recommendation for a tool that my wife and I use - Microsoft OneNote. If you have Office, you probably have OneNote. You can add your reservations, invoices, IDs, itinerary, port info, packing lists, everything you need for your trip! My wife and I have been using it for all of our vacations for years.

No, I do not work for Microsoft. :D

I am about 12 days bout before my next cruise... I have not even begun to think about packing.

Last cruise I packed the morning before we drove to port. Granted, I forgot something, but once there I thought to myself, "if I forgot it, it was not that necessary". :p

Depending on when our flight leaves we start packing either the night before the flight or if it is an afternoon flight we pack the morning of the flight. It doesn't matter how long the cruise is, packing schedule is always the same. I simply don't understand all this packing early concept.

Just curious - are you a man? Packing is so much easier for men. Sigh.

We only cruise once a year, always mid-winter. As we always try to go somewhere warm to escape our freezing temps and snow, I have to search for clothes that have not been worn in months. Then I have to check that they have not been outgrown since summer. ;) I try to start the process a few weeks early, because by January I have pretty much forgotten what I have in my summer wardrobe. Finally, again because these summer items have been sitting in depths of a storage area for months, they need to be freshened before packing.

As to buying anything that you have forgotten, that is not always easy in some ports, and the ships carry a very limited supply of goods for purchase. I once wasted hours trying to purchase dental floss because there was none left on the ship.

All this being said, if I received a phone call saying that I had won a free cruise but I must be ready for pickup in 30 minutes, I could do it!

A little more humid and a little rainier. Still plenty warm in Mexico. Remember LA in December will be cool--jeans and jackets.

that depends on where you're from. I'm from Colorado so CA winter weather is like spring in CO so flip flops and short sleeves.....

My next cruise is on the RCCL Indy on December 28.

 

I live in New York so no more summer clothes this year for me :(

 

Last weekend and this weekend I have had a full day of just being in. I took my clothes out that I will wear on the cruise and ironed each piece. They are all now hanging in my attic. I will actually pack perhaps the weekend of Thanksgiving or the weekend after. I like to be fully packed 1-2 weeks prior to leaving for any vacation. This way I can relax and get my hair and nails done and just relax.

In addition, I just ironed all my dh's shirts for dinner this past Sunday. Just have the kids-17 and 22 and will do my ds's-17 dinner shirts but my dd usually just doesnt want anything ironed. Ill do my ds I think this Saturday.

For those that pack the day or night before are you clothes already ironed?

In my world, there are two kinds of packing...Virtual Packing and Physical Packing. I start virtually packing the minute I book my vacation and it is ongoing until the time I have to physically pack. This is also when I take inventory and determine if there is anything I want to acquire before I go. The LIST changes all the time but finalizes about 2 days before departure - this is usually affected by the weather. The physical pack generally starts with tossing things into a suitcase (we each have our own) in the extra bedroom the week before, with the FINAL pack the night before we depart. We only pack one suitcase and one backpack.

Yes, I like lists. And checkmarks. And planning ahead.

I realize this thread is old, but my vacation starts next Thursday and I am a tad bit excited. I did a search and found this thread as I wanted to know if I am the only crazy one that likes to start packing early.

I have decided I will have my packing list done tonight and TRY not to start packing until Sunday (that is when I do laundry).

 

Im curious how many days ahead of time others start packing ??

I Assume length of cruise has some impact.

 

I always pack early. Then I have to take everything out of the suitcase at the last minute because I forget what I have packed. :)

I gather everything and put it in the spare bedroom as I think about it. Clothes will be on hangers. Actually filling a suitcase will be the day before we leave. If I pack too early, I have to keep going through the suitcase to see if I have packed a particular item. The list however, begins a few months in advance and goes through revisions depending on weather forecasts and newly purchased clothing. Anticipation is half the fun of the trip.

I pack in my head months before the cruise....I do the actual packing the day/night before. I do Piles of items about a month before but these don't go in the suitcase until the night before.

I always wait till the last minute as it really upsets my dog as she realizes I'm leaving her.

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